Machine tools, such as table saws, miter saws, etc., typically have substantial weight associated therewith from the electric motors, and work piece support platforms. Accordingly, in order to facilitate mobility, a large number of tool stands are made to be foldable/collapsible, and/or to include wheel assemblies to allow the tool stand to be easily transported.
An exemplary tool stand is disclosed in Taiwanese publication no. TW I289101. This publication discloses the use of a driving member used to move a link in order to set four wheel assemblies for moving the tool stand along a floor. According to this design, the wheel assemblies must be constructed having a high strength. Additionally, due to the use of four contact points with the floor, there is a high moving resistance to move the stand. Therefore, the use of the four wheel assemblies requires a large amount of moving space.
A detachable tool stand is disclosed in Taiwanese publication no. TW M283108. With this design, however, the tool must be removed from the tool stand before moving the tool stand. Then, after the tool stand has been moved to the desired location, the tool must be reinstalled on the stand again. Thus, this design requires a large amount of labor, and is very time intensive, when it is desired to change the location of the tool installation.
Another design for a tool stand is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,015. This design is a quick-collapse design in which a U-shaped support member is provided at the bottom side of a tool carrier. The U-shaped support member can be collapsed against and received at the carrier when the support member is not in use. However, this configuration is inconvenient for delivery after removal of the tool from the carrier.
Each of Taiwanese publication no. TW M273664 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,229 disclose a tool stand having a wheel assembly positioned at one end thereof. After the support legs are collapsed, the wheel assembly is used to transport the tool stand. During operation to convert the tool stand from the supporting position to the transporting position, the user must first rotate the tool and stand from the horizontal supporting position to a vertical position in which the support legs do not contact the floor. Then, the support legs are folded to a collapsed position. Because the tool is heavier than the support legs, it can be dangerous to rotate the tool from the horizontal to the vertical position, since the center of gravity is position high on the assembly.